Mettanando Bhikkhu: Tourist boycott benefits no one but China

The British prime minister’s proposal for a tourism boycott of Burma, raised before Britons and the leaders of the international community, is an idea which, if implemented, would do more harm than good to the people of Burma.

The boycott would be intended as a sanction against the military regime’s poor human rights record, and to nudge the nation towards democracy. Its effects would be the opposite.

Tony Blair justifies his proposal by drawing a parallel with South Africa, where a similar international boycott helped to bring an end to the apartheid era. Evidently, Mr Blair is not aware of the situation in Burma today